Farewell to 2016

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix brought the curtain down on the 2016 season, the longest ever in terms of the number of races, since the World Championship was first held in 1950. The race at Yas Marina was the 21st this year, a total the sport got close to in 2012, when there were 20 rounds.

Therefore, in Abu Dhabi, we said goodbye to...

The STR11 – This year's Toro Rosso car will be remembered as the "last minute car," a tribute to the speed and determination with which everyone in Faenza and at our wind tunnel in Bicester worked to produce a really effective car in an extremely short space of time, after a very late call regarding the choice of our 2016 power unit;

Ferrari power – For eight of our eleven years competing in Formula 1, we have relied on Ferrari power and we will be sad to see them go. Apart from the excellence of their product, we have enjoyed working with a legendary name in motor sport and a near neighbor, given the short distance between Faenza and Maranello;

Tokens – the Power Unit token system is being scrapped as from next season, which is probably a good thing, because it was very difficult to explain to casual followers of Formula 1;

The fifth Power Unit – Even more reliability and higher mileage will be required from the engines in 2017, as we say goodbye to the fifth engine. Each driver gets just four Power Units to last the season as from next year;

The European Grand Prix – After just one year back on the calendar, the European Grand Prix is going. Well, not really, as we return to Baku next year when rather more logically, the race will be called the Azerbaijan Grand Prix;

Jenson Button and Felipe Massa – They're the Triple Five Club. By the end of Sunday's race, these two drivers had racked up a total of 555 Grands Prix between them, 305 for the Englishman, 250 for the Brazilian. Two of the most popular men on the grid, they will be sorely missed as they retired from Formula 1. All of us at Toro Rosso wish them the best of luck for the future;

Small cars and tyres – During the past three years of the current "hybrid F1," the basic shape of the cars and the dimensions of the tyres have not changed, but now we have said goodbye to these configurations as 2017 marks the arrival of more aggressive looking machines that are wider, heavier and run on tyres that are 25% wider at the front and 30% at the rear. The wings will also be wider and the rear one will be lower to the ground.